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[smick]

The reason english authors are translated into so many other languages is because there is a demand for those works. I am reasonably certain that if there was some amazing Dutch John Grisham or whatever, that there would be people who would see the money in translating it for english markets.

It feels like there's a mistake there that demand equals value.   There likely is an amazing Jorn Gvesham, but we wouldn't really know to even demand it, so his work won't be translated, and with out that, no demand for his work.

[jaydub]

That said, there are certainly works within other societies that have the importance of, say, Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, as far as informing the cultural context in which people live.  Many of them, like the Vedas for example, are religious in nature.  Others such as the Chinese Classics aren't authored by a single person, but are sort of like the Bible in that they collectively describe an ethos. There are also epics like the Illiad or Beowulf such as The Tales of Genji, the Mahabharata, or the Romance of the Three Kingoms.  Also, the Chinese have a tradition of lighter fiction such as Di Gong An.

[jaydub]

It feels like there's a mistake there that demand equals value.   There likely is an amazing Jorn Gvesham, but we wouldn't really know to even demand it, so his work won't be translated, and with out that, no demand for his work.

Sei Shonagon isn't an author that leaps to the minds of most folk, but she wrote The Pillow Book in 1002 AD.  Admittedly, most people have read it because of the movie...

[AugustWest]

So, as far as I'm concerned "literature" as a concept and creative practice is Western - no matter who makes it, what country they're in and for what audience simply because the aesthetic draws from that framework.

I think the Chinese would disagree.

[KeithHernandez]

See I think the thing is that inev thinks way more English works are important than actually are.  Just because it is at barnes and noble doesn't mean it is good...

In all honesty, there are not That many hugely important novels.

[theinevitable]

I mean, still, I started making a list of books I want to read, and I gave up. There are too many. I mean, I consider books which have influenced modern culture in significant ways to be worth reading, which is kind of what I do with music, too.
Which, incidentally, is something that I find myself really interested in-- the way different mediums are understood differently because of being processed through different senses. I used to get into really interesting discussions with this girl I was dating last year about the differences between visual art (which was her thing) and music. She said, for instance, that people have an easier time liking "weird" music than "weird" paintings. I, quite frankly, think it's quite the opposite, for the simple reason of duration. I can look at some crazy abstract painting and say "oh, that looks cool," but I don't know how long I could listen to John Cage for before I'd get bored or annoyed.
Then, you know, we started getting into like "what is the musical equivalent of abstract expressionism" or "what is the visual equivalent of jazz" and we realized that we were full of shit, and stopped.  probably the best choice.

Also, I don't tell you often enough, Melanie, how much I love you. The love I have for you is deeper than any affection.

[CortJstr]

some Canadian literary theorists worship Margaret Atwood while plenty of people outside Canada have no idea who she is.

I actually first heard about her because another author was bitching about some disparaging remarks she made about science fiction and fantasy, since her own work is clearly "speculative fiction."

[littlefallsmets]

I believe I am pretty well-read and...

I've only heard of Atwood because she was name-checked in a Moxy Fruvous song.

[CortJstr]

Well when I sorted our books I discovered that the SO has 2 or 3 of her books but I haven't read any yet. But man, Steven Erikson hates Margaret Atwood. Hates her to hell.

[theinevitable]

oh, lord, she wrote The Handmaiden's Tale. I know so many people who love that book.

[AugustWest]

oh, lord, she wrote The Handmaiden's Tale. I know so many people who love that book.

I just read it a few months ago.  Very good, but not life-changing.  I liked Oryx and Crake a little more.

[V-Adore]

The Handmaid's Tale was okay, but it had one of the biggest cop-out endings I've seen in some time.

[smick]

I believe I am pretty well-read and...

I've only heard of Atwood because she was name-checked in a Moxy Fruvous song.

I had the same thought.

[Victoria Waterfield]

I don't know how long I could listen to John Cage for before I'd get bored or annoyed.

Oh I don't know, I listened to about nine hours of 4' 33'' once before I felt the need to turn it off.

[theinevitable]

Oh I don't know, I listened to about nine hours of 4' 33'' once before I felt the need to turn it off.

When will this end? oh! it's paused! ok... no... now it's paused. Now it's playing. Right?

I feel like it would be much better performed live.